So why have I put swinging on my list of affirmations? Let me explain.

A swing is static until, by disrupting its equilibrium, you get it to move. Since motion obliterates inertia, knowing how to swing means knowing how to give motion to motionless situations. In other words, knowing how to swing means knowing how to actualize change.

But once you start swinging, you need to keep up the momentum. And this is a problem so many of us have—we begin projects then, because we lose momentum, don’t finish what we’ve started.

Birds, trapped in a cage, are forced to substitute swinging for flying. It’s the only motion they’re permitted. Their instinct is to fly and, maybe, the swing’s back and forth swaying gives birds the sensation of flight.

Freud said that “civilization is built up on the suppression of instincts”. I wonder if the birds would agree.